Today 23Feb2023: Snow!

Today I dug out an old Barnes and Noble gift card pre-ordered On the Curry Trail: Chasing the Flavor That Seduced the World by Raghavan Iyer. I only know him by his cookbooks and kind comments when I send him a picture of something I cooked from 660 Curries. I read in the NYT that he is passing away from Colorectal cancer that has spread (the same kind I had). I love this man without ever having met him except in his books and tweets, and I would recommend his books and articles. He got me to cook Indian-style meals.

There are six to ten inches of snow around the Volvo Cave, depending on the wind and aerodynamics of the area. It is again cold tonight, refreezing the snow and the melt, 20F (-6.67C). I made my Physical Therapy (PT) appointment and visited Susie today using Air Volvo to push through the messy, slippery roads. My fellow drivers (who no longer apply some weird quantum legality driving system) mostly drove too slow, too close together, and scared. Nevertheless, I passed many of them and never felt worried about a sudden paint-loosing stop.

I sent a note early that I would not be coming into the office–the trip in was not worth the time and risk in my mind. Then, an hour later, Nike WHQ belatedly announced its closing. So at least the closure for Friday is already announced.

I started, like on Friday and Monday, sleeping in a bit, and began my day after 7. I had two hours of Zoom meetings on status and planning. After that, it was the usual thing with a few crises of the moment for me to resolve. Soon I was getting dressed and making lunch. I opened a can of corn and clam chowder (flavored with bacon as stated on the label) and turned on the oven, and heated some frozen Texas Toast to go with it (garlic and cheese bread). I also did the dishes and started the dishwasher, which heated the kitchen to a comfortable level with the oven and stove going.

I took all the food into the office in the house and followed along a bit at work. I also read the news and tried to keep up. Soon it was afternoon and time to leave for PT. I boarded Air Volvo after clearing the snow from the vehicle and headed to Bethany. My street, Clarion, was unplowed, with only one car trail. Four to six inches of snow. Air Volvo handles well (I thought I heard it giggle–it loves snow), and I was soon on a messy TV Highway. At this time, the road was packed down with snow and slippery, and folks were driving too slow (20 mph or less) and too close to each other. I passed them and went about 30ish and higher when the roadway was visible.

I connected by major streets to keep moving (I was worried about getting trapped behind a stuck car or worse) and reached PT early. Colin was happy to see me (most folks had canceled), and as his previous and next appointments were canceled, I got him for the whole time. He changed a few exercises and corrected one that I was not doing quite right.

After that, I headed in Air Volvo to the hummingbird house. The highway was wet, with only some snow left. Folks were driving slowly on just wet roads, more passing. I soon reached Susie’s place. There was less snow in Tigard, about four inches at most.

Susie was resting in her bed and was delighted to see me. We called her mother, and they chatted for quite some time. I was already getting messages from work, and I had a meeting at 4PM, so it was a brief visit today. Susie was sad about that, but it was a work day. No tears from either of us (I did cry later).

I crossed Beaverton and had no issues. Air Volvo did slip here and there, as I would expect. TV highway was a bit more melted but still sporting packed-down snow and unpacked snow. My neighbors were outside and waved and laughed that I was out driving. I was purposefully driving on the unmarked snow to create more trails on our street. Again, Air Volvo is unstoppable.

I did the meetings at home and then made a breaded porkchop for dinner. I microwaved some tiny potatoes and heated some frozen corn in a pan of water and a steamer mesh. I ate dinner in the kitchen, watching Public Broadcasting Nova shows; I bought the season on my laptop. I love to learn something while cooking and eating.

I took a nap, woke up, and then became depressed lying in bed. Finally, I got up and downloaded more proof of last year’s medical bills from my health insurance website (58 pages), paid some new bills, and started on the blog. I felt better now. I lost my auction bids on some beer stamps for my USA stamp collection (yes, I still collect stamps), but I was fine without paying too much.

I am getting tired again while writing, and that is something new. I do not usually get this tired.

Thanks for reading.